Oct. 17.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2647

Education Act, 1914.—Amended Regulations.

CHARLES FERGUSSON, Governor-General.

ORDER IN COUNCIL.

At the Government House, at Wellington, this 14th day of October, 1929.

Present:

HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN COUNCIL.

IN pursuance and exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Education Act, 1914, and the amendments of that Act, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, His Excellency the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, doth hereby amend, in the manner set forth in the Schedule hereto, the regulations at present in force relating to the organization, examination, and inspection of public schools, and the syllabus of instruction, and with the like advice and consent doth prescribe that this Order shall come into force on the date of publication thereof in the New Zealand Gazette.

SCHEDULE.

GENERAL.

THE regulations relating to the organization, examination, and inspection of public schools, and the syllabus of instruction, made by Order in Council dated 15th September, 1919, and amended by Orders in Council dated 13th June, 1921, 25th March, 1922, 10th September, 1923, 3rd December, 1923, 12th December, 1924, and 30th November, 1928, are hereby further amended as follows:—

1. By deleting clauses 1 to 16 and substituting the following therefor:—

2. (1) For purposes of instruction, the pupils of every public school shall be divided into four divisions—namely, the Preparatory Division, the Junior Division, the Middle Division, and the Senior Division, of which the first three shall be regarded as affording primary instruction and the last as affording secondary instruction.

(2) The Preparatory Division shall in general include those children who have been under instruction at school or elsewhere for not more than two years, and whose age does not exceed eight years. The Preparatory Division may be divided into two but not more than four classes, the lowest being called P. 1, the next P. 2, and so on.

(3) The Junior Division shall be divided into two classes, the lower of which shall be called S. 1 and the higher S. 2. In general, S. 1 shall include children who have been under instruction at school or elsewhere for not more than three years, and S. 2 those who have been under instruction for not more than four years.

(4) The Middle Division shall be divided into two classes, the lower of which shall be called S. 3 and the higher S. 4. In general, S. 3 shall include children who have been under instruction at school or elsewhere for not more than five years, and S. 4 those who have been under instruction for not more than six years.

(5) The Senior Division shall be divided into two classes, the lower of which shall be called Form I and the higher Form II, and shall, in general, consist of those pupils who have been under instruction at school or elsewhere for six years or more and have not gained a Certificate of Proficiency.

(6) Pupils who have satisfactorily completed a course of study in Form II and cannot, on account of distance, conveniently attend a secondary school, district high school, or technical school, shall be classified as belonging to Form III.

(7) The syllabus of work for the classes in each division shall, subject to such modifications as are approved by an Inspector of Schools, be as defined in the Syllabus of Instruction for Public Schools.

(8) Subject to the approval of the Inspector, nothing in these regulations shall be so interpreted as to prevent pupils ordinarily classified in different classes from being instructed together in a common class, and in a programme of work suitably modified to meet the circumstances.

(9) The classification of the pupils shall be determined at the beginning of the year but, if necessary, promotion of individual pupils from class to class may be made at any other time by the head teacher. In the Preparatory Division, especially where it contains more than two classes, the pupils should be promoted at least half-yearly. Teachers shall submit for the information of the Inspector an explanation of the presence in the class of any pupils who have been under instruction for more than the maximum number of years specified in subclauses (2) to (5) hereof. Undue retardation of pupils is always to be regarded as an element of weakness in classification.

(10) Pupils shall for all purposes of record, but not necessarily of teaching, be classified according to their capacity and attainment in English.

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